Effects of housing systems on semen quantity and quality in crossbred Noi roosters

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the number and quality of sperm of crossbred Noi chickens under two rearing systems: floor-rearing and cage-rearing at a livestock farm located in Cai Nhum commune, Vinh Long province, from August to October 2024. A total of 30 samples were randomly assigned to the 2 rearing systems: floor or cage (15 roosters per system). Semen samples were collected using the abdominal massage method and evaluated for semen quality indicators at the veterinary diagnostic laboratory of Tay Do University. The results showed that floor-reared chickens had higher semen volume (0.46±0.07 ml) and sperm concentration (3.28x109/ml) (P<0.05) compared to cage-reared chickens (0.40 ml and 2.96x109/ml). However, the semen pH value in the floor-reared group (7.19) was lower in the cage-reared group (7.32). The percentage of abnormal sperm was higher in floor-reared roosters (3.85%) than in cage-reared roosters (3.13%). Body weight was negatively correlated (-0.12) and statistically significant with sperm viability (P<0.01); sperm viability was positively correlated (0.569) with sperm motility (P<0.001) and negatively correlated (-0.528) with the percentage of abnormal sperm (P<0.001). In addition, sperm concentration was negatively correlated (-0.125) with semen pH value (P<0.01). The results confirm that using the floor-rearing method improves semen volume and sperm concentration in crossbred Noi chickens.